I am not a Colorado Avalanche fan, but I loved their teams in the early 2000s. (Photo via Brian Bahr/Getty Images)

The opening game of this series was tied 2-2 after two periods. With just over a minute left in the third, Milan Hejduk gave the top-seeded ’00-’01 Avalanche a 3-2 lead. However, defenseman Derek Morris tied it for the 8th-seeded ’02-’03 Avalanche with just 17 seconds remaining in regulation and forced overtime. The ’02-’03 Avalanche garnered more of the scoring opportunities in OT, but it was Hejduk who won it for the top seed in the final minute of the second overtime. The ’00-’01 Avalanche didn’t need a double overtime winner to win Game 2 as they won easily, 4-1. Joe Sakic scored twice while goaltender Patrick Roy stopped 24 of 25 shots against. The ’02-’03 Avalanche got on the board in the series with a 5-2 win in Game 3 as defenseman Rob Blake‘s three points (1G, 2A) led them offensively. They then evened up the series with a 5-3 win in Game 4. Hejduk scored twice and added an assist for the ’02-’03 Avalanche.

In Game 5, a shorthanded goal from Adam Deadmarsh seven plus minutes into the second gave the ’00-’01 Avalanche a 2-1 lead. However, the ’02-’03 Avalanche would score three unanswered goals to take a 4-3 lead and they would hang on late for a 4-3 win to take a 3-2 series lead. The top seed would dominate their way to a 9-3 win in Game 6 to force a Game 7. Hejduk (4G), Sakic (2G, 2A) and defenseman Ray Bourque (4A) all posted four points in the win while Alex Tanguay posted three (3A). Game 7 was tied 1-1 after the first period, but the ’00-’01 Avalanche held a 3-1 lead by the halfway point of the second thanks to two goals from Sakic. The score was later 4-3 in favor of the top seed, but defenseman Greg de Vries potted a PP marker in the middle of the third to seal the series for the ’00-’01 Avalanche.